Parliamentary panel green-lights Justice Ayesha’s elevation to top Pakistani court

ISLAMABAD – Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment has approved the nomination of Lahore High Court's (LHC) Justice Ayesha Malik as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Farooq H Naek, a member of the committee, said that the decision was made in light of the gender of Justice Ayesha.

The committee has sent Justice Ayesha's name to President Arif Alvi for final approval. 

Earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had recommended her name for appointment as the Supreme Court judge with a vote of five to four.

Justice Ayesha will be the first female Supreme Court judge in the judicial history of Pakistan if appointed.

Earlier this month, a meeting of the JCP was held under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed, during which five out of nine members of the commission supported the appointment of Justice Ayesha Malik to the Supreme Court.

CJP Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, retired judge Sarmad Jalal Osmani, Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan and Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem endorsed her nomination.

Meanwhile, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and PBC representative Akhtar Hussain opposed her nomination.

Justice Ayesha is ranked fourth in the Lahore High Court in terms of seniority.

The Pakistan Bar Council had declared a strike against the appointment of Justice Ayesha Malik.

Out of the 17 judges appointed in the Supreme Court, Justice Ayesha Malik has been nominated for the seat which became vacant after the retirement of Justice Mushir Alam on August 17.

Chief Justice of Pakistan and Chief Justice Lahore High Court had suggested the name of Justice Ayesha Malik, to which Justice Ayesha also agreed in writing.